Zuko vs. Sub-Zero
Zuko vs Sub-Zero is a What If? episode of DEATH BATTLE! featuring Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender and Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat Description The elements who have rivaled each other during the first days of the universe shall clash again by these skilled elementalists! Who will win between hot and cold? Interlude Boomstick: Ever since the birth of the universe, there was always a hot and cold side. And these two are going to clash with each other once again, this time both are being wielded by masters of their own elements! Wiz: Zuko, the Fire Lord. Boomstick: And Sub-Zero, the Lin Kuei Grandmaster. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick. Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle. Zuko Wiz: Fire, an ancient element that has existed as long as there is heat. Boomstick: And when there is fire, incineration and screaming is sure to follow. Wiz: Our young warrior, Zuko, is a firebender and royal prince who would soon become a Firelord. But his success doesn't always come with a tragic life. Boomstick: Zuko grew up with a twisted and rude family, and his dad is the source of all of this. He poisoned Zuko's grandfather, sent his wife out of the kingdom and even disowned Zuko. Wiz: Let's not forget that he has a sister named Azula who constantly tormented his childhood. Poor guy, I think we know why he looks so...sad and angry. Boomstick: One day, Zuko attended a war meeting which didn't go very well after he talked out of turn during the meeting. Guess what he got after that. Wiz: A scar around his left eye and banishment from the Fire Nation. After being sent away by his ruthless father, Zuko promised to return with honor by finding and capturing the Avatar. Boomstick: And he's not going to that with just weapons, because he's got some elemental abilities up his sleeve. Firebending. Wiz: Firebending is an ability that allows you to control and generate fire, lightning and anything related to high temperatures of heat. This power can be intensified by emotions and people who practice this art are known as firebenders. Boomstick: Besides firebending, Zuko is a skilled fighter. His combat skill is so good, he can scare off earthbending warriors just by showing off his fighting moves. Zuko dual wields two large swords even as a young man and has excellent blocking and deflecting skills with them. He can easily disarm trained soldiers of their weapons, be it swords or long spears. Wiz: Zuko is a master of stealth, his stealth is good enough to sneak into an extremely and heavily guarded Fire Nation base undetected. He can set up traps for guards to lure them into their doom and either take them out or simply incapacitate them so that he can take something that he needs from them. Boomstick: Didn't he also have some skill in the con artist field? Like, I think he had some sort of secret identity where he had this demon mask on his face all the time. Wiz: His secret identity is known as the Blue Spirit, and as the Blue Spirit, Zuko focuses more on his martial arts, swordsmanship, trickery, stealth and deception rather than his supernatural ability to bend fire to his own will. Boomstick: By the way, we haven't explained much about his firebending. Firebending is based on the real life martial art known as Kung Fu. There are some power sources such as Sozin's Comet that greatly increase the power and enhances firebending when that big flaming rock comes out in the sky. So if you happen to be a firebender, I suggest going all out and guns blazing with your powers of fire. Wiz: Firebending is one of the most versatile elements in the Avatar verse. Zuko is capable of conjuring fireballs and fiery explosions to incinerate his enemies. Superheating his abilities allows him to conjure white hot lightning to scorch his foes to ashes. Boomstick: Zuko can also create fire constructs for offense and defense, such as weapons and shields. Wiz: Firebending can create weapons such as whips and daggers made of fire and imbue his physical strikes using his fists and feet with fire coating. Plus he can coat his weapons in fire to add burning effects to his attacks. He can even create shields and deflect other firebenders' projectiles. He can even heat himself up to escape from being frozen. Boomstick: Now let me just get to his feats. Zuko is not a frail dude at first glance. This guy is a master acrobat and can hold on to cliff edges, scale large buildings and jump between a large gap from two moving airships! Wiz: Zuko has impressive speed feats, such as quickly redirecting lightning from her sister Azula. Keep in mind that lightning can move as fast as Mach 1282.79883 or 440,000 meters per second. He can swat away fast moving arrows coming from behind. Boomstick: Zuko has tanked the destruction of ship and endured many fiery explosions from fellow firebenders. Plus he has broken out of ice and can safely handle Azula's lightning without getting scorched or electrocuted. Wiz: He has a degree of cold resistance as well, since he can survive swimming in the cold waters of the Arctic as well as being able to endure cold temperatures by heating himself up. Boomstick: While Zuko wields great power, the dude makes really bad decisions in the blink of an eye. So don't try to rush this guy too much. He does, however, leave this weakness behind as he grows up. Sub-Zero Wiz: In the frozen reaches of China, a reclusive clan of supernatural assassins thrive in the icy lands of Arctica. And this clan was a former servant to the evil emperor Shao Kahn. Boomstick: Chinese ninja mercenaries? How weird can Midway fighting games get? Wiz: One of its members was Kuai Liang, the younger Sub-Zero who is also the current holder of the mantle and Grandmaster title. Kuai Liang is half-cryomancer and half-human, but all deadly. Boomstick: Wow, talk about being an Outworld ice-humanoid-alien coming all the way to Earthrealm just to make love with a human. Sounds like a shitty fanfiction to me. Wiz: Sub-Zero was trained in the cryomancer arts and martial arts since he was a child. The Lin Kuei kidnapped him and his brother and joined them in their ranks, thinking that both of them would be an asset to their clan. They both grew up together to become the Lin Kuei's pride and joy. Boomstick: One day, Bi-Han failed his mission because that shitstain known as Scorpion killed him even though Raiden told him that he would bring back his family if he spared the Elder Sub-Zero. What a load of shit. Wiz: Well, Quan Chi made Scorpion do it. Boomstick: Yeah, but who even believes an evil sorcerer who has projector magic that tells lies! Lies, I tell you! Wiz: Anyways, Kuai Liang heard about the death of his brother and set out with his friend Smoke, a.k.a Tomas Vrbada, and relentlessy searched for the Elder Sub-Zero's killer. Boomstick: Cool backstory, now let's see what Sub-Zero has for us. Wiz: Without further ado, let's get to his arsenal. Wiz: Sub-Zero is a master hand-to-hand combatant, he's skilled in Shotokan karate and Dragon Kung Fu. He's seen using other mainstream fighting styles, like Karate, Muay Thai, MMA, and can deliver a devastating overhead knifehand stike that heavily damages foes and sends them upwards. Boomstick: Sub-Zero's main ability comes from his ice powers, which he can use to freeze enemies and create ice constructs. Wiz: According to this really''' old and greasy manual for MK: Mythologies, Sub-Zero's ice can reach temperatures exceeding absolute zero. ' '''Boomstick: Wait, why does it show his older brother instead of Kuai Liang?' Wiz: That's because both of them have been training with their ice powers since childhood. Both are comparable in skill with cryomancy, and Kuai Liang has surpassed his brother since he neglected his ice powers in exchange for dark shadow power as a Netherrealm wraith. Boomstick: Ohhh, thanks for clearing that up Wiz! Wiz: Sub-Zero's icy arsenal includes swords, daggers, and hammers. He can summon them instantly without needing to wait, allowing for a fast pace fighting style with no breaks in between. With the release of Mortal Kombat X, Sub-Zero gains new defenses including full body ice armor, ice bubble forcefields and ice barriers. His ice armor allows him to take lesser damage thanks to the rock hard structure of his hardened ice. His ice bubble forcefields repel attacks and freeze anyone or anything that comes in contact with it. Boomstick: Sub-Zero is a master ice sculptor, creating things out of ice like shields, barriers, ramps, armor and even a perfect sculpture of himself! He can use these too get the hell out of there or even defend himself. Wiz: Sub-Zero's ice barriers can absorb projectiles and freeze anyone who comes in contact with it, just like his ice clones. His ice clones are the perfect mixture of offense and defense. In offensive mode, Sub-Zero can throw the clone at his enemy or slide it towards them on the ground or in the air. In defensive mode, Sub-Zero can block projectiles or even freeze anyone who dares to come close to it. Boomstick: Sub-Zero can also instantly teleport by turning into ice and disappearing before reappearing at another place, like your back. Wiz: Sub-Zero can freeze the ground beneath him to slide towards his opponent, knocking them off their footing and even following it up with an ice blast to their back that can instantly turn them into brittle ice and shatter them, leaving their head in a cube. He can even lower the temperature around him to freeze anyone who is near him. Boomstick: All these ice powers have gained him some feats. Sub-Zero's freezing powers is so strong, it can counter Sektor's 3000 degree flames! Thanks DC Comics for making him overpowered now! Wait, saying Detective Comics Comics doesn't make sense... Wiz: Sub-Zero has survived many fatalities, including getting blown up to his vital organs, double impalement to his bowels before getting blasted with point blank hellfire, tanking a laser guided missile and even shielded himself from Cyrax's self-destruct that destroyed the entire Cyber Lin Kuei hideout. Boomstick: He's fast enough to react to two of Kano's lasers and kept up with Scorpion, a ninja wraith who can blitz gods and spam instant teleportation! In the Mortal Kombat X comics, Sub-Zero casually slipped past an explosion which can reach up to Mach 24 speeds! ''' Wiz: Besides that, he survived the Cyber Initiative's soul destruction. When a person undergoes the cyberization, they lose their souls and gain less complex thoughts, which makes them obedient instead of questioning their master's commands. Even Quan Chi complimented Sub-Zero's resilient soul when they met in the Netherrealm. '''Boomstick: Sub-Zero may have incredible powers and strength, but he's not like the people he fights on a daily basis. Gods, monsters and cyborgs are all different from a man who could bleed from a papercut. DEATH BATTLE It is nighttime, and it's the perfect time for murder and evil to come out and play. Zuko is jumping through the rooftops of a Fire Nation compound then leaps towards a window before stealthily opening the hatch. The window reveals a golden amulet with runes inscribed on each side. The thief, not wanting to waste any time, snatched the amulet and left. He looked behind him and saw the compound then let out a deep breath. He ran around the surrounding forest until he crashed into a headless body of a Fire Nation soldier that dropped out of the trees, shocking him. The corpse slowly began to freeze, and the thief began to slowly back off a few steps away before the corpse shattered to pieces, prompting him to pull out his two swords. Two glowing eyes emerged from the darkness and the forest around them began to slowly freeze. It was Sub-Zero, and he was clutching the soldier's frozen spine. He held it up and crushed it in one go and entered a combat stance. FIGHT! Zuko ignited his swords and attacks Sub-Zero with a spinning slash combo but he casually dodges and blocks each slash before using his Ice Parry move to freeze Zuko. He grabs the frozen Zuko and tosses him towards a tree, shattering the ice and knocking him down. Sub-Zero slides towards Zuko but he narrowly steps out of the way, with Sub-Zero snapping the tree in half instead. Confused, Sub-Zero taps into his natural instincts and senses Zuko leaping at him from a tree, and quickly turns around to elbow him in the face, shattering the front of his skull. Zuko recovers from the attack and picks up his swords, then clashes them to unleash a massive blast of fire. Sub-Zero reacts by firing ice at Zuko's fireblast and both elements seem to cancel each other out. Zuko sheathes his swords and lights up his fists in flames. He charges towards Sub-Zero and leaps upward, further igniting his flames. As Zuko's flaming fist is about to touch him, Sub-Zero catches his hand then freezes it instantly, before twisting his elbow and kicking his kneecap. He kicks him away and summons a massive warhammer that crushes his ribs, then grabs Zuko and proceeds to toss him again, but Zuko maintains flight by propelling himself with a concentrated stream of fire and blasts Sub-Zero, burning him badly. Sub-Zero gets bombarded by a barrage of fireballs before getting shot with an arrow made of fire. Zuko lands down and divekicks Sub-Zero, stunning him. Zuko thrusts his flaming blades into his abdomen then pulls them out. He sheathes one blade then prepares to thrust a blade into his right chest, stabbing him again. He prepares to burn his blades to cook Sub-Zero's insides, but he wakes up and quickly teleports away by turning himself into ice, trapping Zuko's blade in the ice. He reappears behind Zuko and slams him with a warhammer, but Zuko halts its descent and tries to hold it up before Sub-Zero shatters it and tries to punch him, but Zuko rolls out of the way and blasts him with a fireball, sending him backwards to a tree. Sub-Zero does a Chinese get up and sees Sozin's Comet light up the sky. He looks back at Zuko and sees him channeling flames throughout his body, then ominously looks at Sub-Zero with flaming eyes. Sub-Zero shakes his head sideways and charges up at an iceball before throwing it at Zuko, but Zuko casually deflects it. He charges up another iceball that Zuko deflects again, before unleashing a beam of ice from both of his hands. Zuko charges up the flames in his body before unleashing fiery explosions around the forest, incinerating the landscape. The entire forest was reduced to a flaming wasteland, and Zuko lets out a sigh and checks the amulet he stole. He sees it in pristine condition and puts it back into his pocket. K.O.! Sub-Zero appears out of nowhere and slides towards Zuko with ridiculous speed. Before he could even process a thought, Sub-Zero dashes through him and shatters Zuko into brittle pieces of ice. He picks up the stolen amulet and looks at it, which is actually the Dragon Medallion. Results Boomstick: Now that's what I call an abstract piece of art! Wiz: The results heavily leaned towards Sub-Zero from the very beginning. Sub-Zero is no stranger to the element of fire and has constantly fought against people who wield such element. Boomstick: Sub-Zero has canceled out Scorpion's hellfire before and can also contend with Sektor's 3000 degree Fahrenheit flamethrower, which makes firebending a walk in the park for the ice ninja. ' Wiz: Sub-Zero has also dodged multiple explosions in his fight against Sektor, so evading Zuko's fiery explosion attacks shouldn't be a problem for him. He can keep up with lightning dodgers like Scorpion and evade Kano's lasers which is better than Zuko's best feat of redirecting and catching an actual lightning bolt. '''Boomstick: And if it wasn't obvious, Zuko's attacks aren't going to do crap to Sub-Zero when he has tanked double impalement to the bowels or getting blasted with hellfire and three thousand degree flames in point blank range from Scorpion and Sektor. ' Wiz: During Sozin's Comet, Zuko was able to match Azula's blue flames which is stated to be much hotter than any red, orange or yellow flame. Magnesium flames are currently the hottest flames in real life, reaching temperatures of 2500 degrees Celsius. 'Boomstick: But that wouldn't matter when Sub-Zero can just blast it with his -500 degree Fahrenheit ice powers which is already absolute zero temperatures, a temperature that literally can't exist. ' Wiz: Overall, Sub-Zero takes this in strength, speed, skill and having experience in dealing with fire users.' '''Boomstick: Looks like Sub-Zero's ice made Zuko's chances of winning absolute zero.' Wiz: The winner is Sub-Zero. Trivia *This fight was originally owned by someone else but was taken by Xtasyamphetamine in accordance to the rules of the Death Battle Fanon wiki. Category:"Male vs Male" Themed Death Battles Category:'Battle of the Elements' Themed Death Battles Category:'Fire vs Ice' themed Death Battles Category:Death Battles with a returning combatant Category:Anti Hero themed Death Battles Category:'Video Games vs TV Shows' themed Death Battles Category:What-If? Death Battles Category:Xtasyamphetamine Category:Death Battles by 2 Different Series Category:Death Battles by 2 Different Companies Category:"Old vs Young" Themed Death Battles Category:Completed What-If? Death Battles Category:What-If? Death Battles completed in 2019 Category:'Mortal Kombat vs Avatar' themed Death Battles Category:'Mature' vs 'Kid-Friendly/Family' Death Battles Category:'Nickelodeon vs Warner Bros.' themed Death Battles